Gandia-Rosa leads late surge; North Florida beats FIU 87-85

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) Ivan Gandia-Rosa scored 16 of his 24 points in the final 6:45 to help North Florida beat Florida International 87-85 on Wednesday night.

FIU (5-5) had a 73-67 lead when Gandia-Rosa scored 14 of the Osprey’s next 18 points, and North Florida led 85-81 with 1:27 remaining. Brian Beard Jr.’s layup pulled the Panthers to 85-83 with 1:13 left. On the Osprey’s next possession, they grabbed three offensive rebounds before Gandia-Rosa was fouled with nine seconds to go. Gandia-Rosa then made both free throws to seal it for North Florida (5-7), which has won five of its last six including four straight.

Gandia-Rosa was 5 of 13 from the field and made all 12 of his free throws. Trip Day was 6-of-6 shooting and finished with 13 points for North Florida. Noah Horchler had 10 points and 14 rebounds.